SunOpta Foods is a worldwide company based in Canada that is primarily engaged in the production and distribution of organic and nutritious food products. The company operates in the United States as well as around the globe.

History
SunOpta was founded in 1973 under the original name Stake Technology. Stake Technology was established in order to market and implement the technology of steam explosion. In 1995, the company was able to acquire Barnes Environmental, leading to the foundation of the company Opta Mineral Inc. This new company focused on the markets of environmental recycling and industrial minerals. In 1994, the company’s total annual revenue was less than $200,000.

In 1999, SunOpta created another subsidiary company, SunOpta Foods. This affiliate focused on processing and distributing organic foods. That same year, SunOpta Foods acquired Sunrich, Inc., an industrial provider of organic specialty grains, as well as high-quality food ingredients. In the year 2000, SunOpta again purchased another company, this time Northern Food and Dairy Inc. Northern Food was engaged in the production of all-natural soy concentrates.

In March 2001, SunOpta was able to acquire First Light Foods Inc., a company engaged in providing soymilk. A year after, it again completed another acquisition, Wild West Organic Harvest Cooperative. In December of that year, SunOpta bought Simply Organic Co. Ltd.

In 2005, Opta Mineral Inc. became a publicly listed company in the Toronto Stock Exchange. Currently, SunOpta owns a majority of Opta Mineral’s stocks (66.4%).  With a combination of the company’s acquisitions and its internal growth, SunOpta Foods soon became a leader in North America. By 2009, SunOpta was earning a total of $989 million a year.

The year 2010 was an eventful year for SunOpta. In June, the company divested its food distribution company in Canada to UNFI Canada, Inc. In September, it again divested another of its subsidiaries, SunOpta BioProcess, Inc. to Mascoma Corporation. In November, SunOpta purchased Dahlgreen & Company Inc., a manufacturer and global provider of confectionery products from sunflower seeds. A month later, SunOpta was able to acquire Edner, a company engaged in the production of nutritious snack foods, as well as co-packer of a number of private label brands. This acquisition by SunOpta enabled the company to expand its line of fruit-based food products.

Stats

Headquarters: Ontario, Canada
Ownership Type: Public
No. of Employees: 1,866
Geography: Worldwide
Demography: Organic food consumers

Brands
SunOpta

Important links
Corporate Home Page
Products
Contact Information